CANADA STOCKS-TSX ends higher as commodity prices climb

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* TSX ends up 62.40 points at 12,663.58

* Commodity prices supported by falling greenback

* Six of 10 index sectors advance (Updates to close, adds quote)

By Jennifer Kwan

TORONTO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Toronto’s main stock index ended higher for a second straight session on Monday as commodity prices got a boost from a weak U.S. dollar, which fell on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve would engage in further monetary easing.

Resources, which are largely priced in U.S. dollars, surged on a selloff in the greenback after this past weekend’s Group of 20 leaders meeting in South Korea produced few firm policy initiatives, giving investors little reason to stop selling the U.S. currency. [FRX/]

“The weakness in the U.S. dollar stems from a general view that the greenback is headed even lower from these levels and the G20 conference over the weekend hasn’t done much to alleviate concerns about the ongoing weakness in the U.S. dollar,” said Elvis Picardo, an analyst and strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver.

The U.S. dollar fell broadly on Monday as traders sold it on the view that the U.S. central bank was ready to turn on the printing press again next week. [FRX/]

The Fed is expected to launch a second round of asset purchases at its Nov. 2-3 meeting, a process intended to push down interest rates and one that would make the U.S. dollar less attractive than higher-yielding currencies.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended the session up 62.40 points, or 0.50 percent, at 12,663.58. It peaked at 12,692.59, its strongest level since Oct. 14.

Six of the index’s 10 main sectors were higher, with a 1.3 percent advance in the heavily weighted materials group.

The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB, a global commodities benchmark, was up more than 1 percent as the price of key resources such as oil, gold and copper rose. [O/R] [GOL/] [MET/L]